Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Tánaiste to the House today. We are here to discuss the Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Bill 2022. I acknowledge in particular the work of the Leader of the House, Senator Doherty, and other Senators on this. I welcome the Tánaiste's and Fine Gael's commitment to protecting workers' rights here. As the Tánaiste has mentioned, this is one of five rights the Government is bringing forward this year. It is timely to discuss this Bill on St. Brigid's day, Imbolc, which is the promise of spring. Many schools will be making their St. Brigid's crosses today, and probably looking for tips. Whether they will get them is another thing.

Among the rights mentioned by the Tánaiste is the right to request remote working. It is crucial, especially in regional areas like Roscommon and east Galway. We have spoken about this recently. The Tánaiste will also be looking at statutory sick pay, extra redundancy rights for people who were laid off during the pandemic and, here before us, the right to protect tips. This legislation means employers will have to pass on tips to employees, and this applies in all sectors, including hospitality, taxi drivers, hairdressers and tour guides. All of these are the sectors that were heavily impacted during the pandemic. Our hospitality and tourism sectors were totally shut down. I also acknowledge the Low Pay Commission and its report on this, and the officials in the Department and their work.

Since our reopening, our hotels and restaurants are full of activity. On Sunday we took my family out. My mum and dad are quite a bit older but it feels safe to bring them out. The place was absolutely full of grandparents, mums, dads and kids, and it was absolutely hopping on a Sunday. To sit down and have dinner and to see that coming back was fantastic.It is important to us because the time we usually spend with family and friends was gone during lockdown. We need to ensure that we support our industry in getting back on its feet, but one of the key issues, as been mentioned, is staff shortages in hospitality. We need to examine how we are supporting apprenticeships and encourage employers to take on apprentices. There are supports for employers, such as €2,000 to take on an apprentice and €1,000 if an employer keeps one on after six months.

In the west, An Chistin in Castlerea is a state-of-the-art food training centre for chefs and all types of catering and there is also training available in GMIT and Limerick. Following the campaign I hope will be launched to promote this, we should also highlight the centres of excellence in food training to encourage more people to take on apprentices and the centres of excellence in those areas.

As a student, I worked in restaurants and pubs and I know how important it is to have tips. As a student, an extra little bit in tips made up for the long hours, sore feet and low wages. It is crucial that we reward people in the industry, and we need to ensure that we reward and encourage them, in particular students who have part-time jobs while attending third level. We need a strong and growing industry and it is important that the Bill protects tips and people working in the sector.

I acknowledge Dr. Deirdre Curran who has done a lot of research on this and has spoken to sectoral reform. Other areas that can be examined and reformed, and this Bill is the start. The Bill will ensure transparency for all employees, in particular in terms of electronic payments, and will oblige an employer to publish a statement for all employees to view. That is extremely welcome.

On service charges, is there a way for it to be made clear on a bill that this is an employers' service charge? Can such a provision be included in the Bill?